GOOD NEWS INTERVIEW FEATURES BUDDING WRITER KATIE FRANCIOSI
Our Good News Interview is with Katie Franciosi this Friday during the 9am, Noon and 6pm news hours. Franciosi, a Valdez High School Senior, recently won a writing contest and talks with KVAK about her journey through high school and how she discovered her love of writing and the outdoors.

ROOKIE COP PRAISED FOR HELPING BRING DOWN DRUG RING

KTVA.com - VALDEZ – Officer Andrew Pritchett of the Valdez Police Department came to Alaska by way of Seattle. In February 2012, he and his wife moved up to Valdez so he could pursue his longtime dream of working in law enforcement. High school sweethearts, the snowy winters of Valdez did nothing to scare them away.
“I always wanted to be a police officer. I had two police officers who were kind of instrumental in my teen years,” Pritchett said.
When he was just six months out of training, Pritchett arrested 26-year-old Timothy Miller. That arrest would lead to convictions for Miller and five other people for charges related to drug trafficking. For a street cop in his rookie year of service, the arrest — and investigation that followed — was a remarkable accomplishment.

VALDEZ - Beginning Tuesday, February 24, 2015, people age 21 and over can legally possess, outside of their homes, up to an ounce of marijuana and can grow up to six plants in their home (with up to three being mature, flowering plants). Adults may also give up to an ounce of marijuana and up to six plants to another adult.
This week's City Council packet contains a bevy of information on the new marijuana law and has published public service information making it clear that marijuana is not legal for those under 21 and that one shouldn't drive while under the influence of marijuana. The public service announcement also provides common sense tips for marijuana.

CLICK HERE to get all the facts about marijuana initiativeCLICK HERE to read public service information tips on marijuana

The Russian economic meltdown and the collapse of the ruble means Russian tourists are no longer streaming to Finnish Lapland for winter getaways, but travelers from Asia and elsewhere have taken their place.

A fresh new five-year plan for oil and gas leasing in the nation’s outer continental shelf features what federal officials hope will be a less controversial approach to oil exploration in Arctic waters, the Alaska director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said Monday.

The mostly Dene community of Deline is expected to be the first in Canada's Northwest Territories to gain self-governing powers; other First Nations communities in the Sahtu region are also seeking to join Deline.

Ancient bones recovered from an archaeological site in the Gulf of Alaska offer a glimpse into the last time the Earth underwent a drastic change in climate -- and it includes a spike in mercury levels in the world's oceans.

The North Slope village of Kaktovik, on the shore of the Beaufort Sea, is recovering from a Saturday night blizzard that packed frozen, hurricane-force winds and sent dumpsters tumbling like dice, residents said.

Fisherman found dead aboard Kodiak boat
KODIAK, Alaska - Alaska State Troopers say they have found nothing suspicious in the circumstances surrounding a fishing vessel crew member who was found dead in his bunk.